Bad luck struck my streaming pitchers for yesterday, this time in the form of home runs. Jesse Chavez had five strikeouts in as many innings with only one walk, but was hit hard with balls in play and those pesky home runs. Jeff Locke had better BABIP luck, but didn’t keep the ball on the ground as much as he would have liked and the home runs got the best of him. I’m still a member of the Jesse Chavez Fan Club, and I would continue to use any Oakland or Pittsburgh pitchers in their home parks as you can. That bad luck bug might be biting now, but eventually luck will be on our side for a night. On to the streaming pitchers for tomorrow!
Streaming Pitchers: 6/8/2015
Lance McCullers RHP HOU (@ CWS)
We all know how much I like this kid already. We all know how much I like the cleats. I’m a nerd, to be sure, but the kid has been nothing but electric since his call up. The strikeouts have been there in spades, as he’s at 29.6% so far this year, and he’s shown decent control so far too, at just 6.1%. He’s done a fairly decent job of keeping the ball in the dirt when he’s had it put in play too, at a 47.5% rate so far in these first four starts. He hasn’t given up a home run yet, and while that may change having to go to the Cell, I don’t foresee too much damage overall, as the White Sox still haven’t got it going this year on offense, with a 77 wRC+ at home and a 91 wRC+ against righties. The kid should see a good opportunity here to keep up his good start to his career.
Jimmy Nelson RHP MIL (@ PIT)
Jimmy Nelson has looked like a pitcher with some promise for some time. At first, he looked like a fastball/slider type of pitcher in the Jason Hammel mold, and while that can work for a guy, you’d like to see him develop a third pitch that’s at least average. Well, it looks like earlier this season, he may have found that pitch in his new spike curve. He uses it over 20% of the time, so he trusts the pitch. Control is the only issue. Pitching at Pittsburgh will help with his home run issue, and the Pirates are only hitting a 95 wRC+ against righties. This might be a perfect opportunity to use his strikeout ability against a weaker opponent.
